Holiday trips have become a significant economic factor worldwide. This also led to the vast increase in the popularity of the cruise market over the last 20 years. Not only huge passenger ships like the "Oasis of the Seas" or the "Queen Mary 2" win over more fans, but the entire industry of cruise travel.

In order to make the cruise travel exciting, relaxing and affordable for the passengers and at the same time profitable for the providers, a lot of work has to be done not only on board, but also on land. Therefore, the course Cruise Tourism Management has been invented and is still optimized continuously. The course aims to educate and qualify young people for management positions in the tourism and cruise sector. After a short period of introduction, CTM graduates should be able to take on responsibility and be in a position to perform demanding tasks independently at home and abroad.

Cruise Tourism Management is a unique, highly innovative undergraduate four-year Bachelor's degree course leading to the Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree, in the area of business administration which is taught in English. It is characterized by a student-oriented and innovative dynamics which involves lots of teamwork and small working groups, giving access to 1-year Master programmes (standard in Great Britain) and to Master studies in the United States.

"I like most that the courses are taught in English." Maike S.

Subjects in economics and management, tourism and cruise travel, hotel management as well as other supplementary contents equip the students with necessary and extensive knowledge. Moreover, there are also foreign languages, law, mathematics and other important soft skill courses in the curriculum. One integrative component is one year abroad which can be completed either at universities or in companies all over the world.

The one-year counselling project for external clients and small projects in favour of the university and the city of Bremerhaven enables the students to involve and commit in civil society. The tight networking between Cruise Tourism Management and the Institute of Maritime Tourism at the University of Applied Sciences Bremerhaven as well as the international Cruise Research Society, allows the students have the possibility to take part in research projects and scientific conferences.

CTM in short:

4-year full-time Bachelor programme (240 ECTS credits)

A business and management degree with a focus on tourism and cruises

Strong practice orientation and co-operation with industry partners

Taught in English (70%) and German (30%)

Includes an internship and a semester abroad

2 semesters of applied project work for external clients in the final year

Emphasises self-directed learning in small teams and the development of personal and social skills

10 reasons to study Cruise Tourism Management

1. Unique program in Germany

2. Awarded study program

3. Wide range of opportunities after graduation

4. Personal and amicable contact to professors and teaching staff

5. Cooperations with external organizations and companies

6. Teamwork and solidarity in the first place

7. Excursions and field trips

8. Possibility to engage in social fields

9. No deadlocked study program

10. High weighting of languages

Cruise Tourism Management and its awards

The people behind Cruise Tourism Management and its predecessor (International) Cruise Industry Management work hard to offer their students an outstanding learning and study experience. This commitment is reflected by several awards and nominations.

2007 - CIM (now CTM) is one of three nominees for the Travel Industry Club's 2007 Best Practice Award. The Award goes to the German Tourism Board (DZT – Deutsche Zentrale für Tourismus).

2006 - Along with 3 competitors, CIM (now CTM) wins the nation-wide competition of undergraduate degree programmes. It is now officially a Best Practice example endorsed and financially supported by theStifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft.

2006 - CIM (now CTM) receives the highest possible rating of 3 stars for 'employability' from the business magazine Karriere. The rating was defined by the Centrum für Hochschulentwicklung and dem Arbeitskreis Personalmarketing.

The Willy Scharnow-Stiftung für Touristik honours Professor Michael Vogel for his contribution to the future of the tourism industry by developing and leading the CIM (now CTM) programme since 2003

Kreuzfahrttourismus Bachelor Studium - Kurze Beschreibung

"The multitude of possible working places was crucial for me to choose CTM!" Laura K. Origin: CTM